China Pushes Lithium Mining in Tibet, Igniting Fears of Exploitation
China has begun large-scale production of lithium from two major mines in Tibet, drawing sharp criticism from Tibetan activists and environmentalists who see the move as yet another example of Beijing’s extractive colonial policies in the occupied Himalayan nation.
On Sep 28, 2025, state-run media announced that two projects—an integrated plant producing 40,000 tonnes of primary lithium salts annually and another producing 20,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate—had commenced production in Golmud (Tibetan: Nagormo), Qinghai Province, part of the historical Tibetan plateau. Both projects are owned by China Salt Lake Industry Group Co., Ltd., a joint venture between China Minmetals Corp, a Beijing-based state-owned giant, and Qinghai provincial authorities (Mysteel.net, Sep 28).
On the same day, Tibet Mineral Development Co., Ltd., under the control of China Baowu Iron & Steel Group, announced the official launch of its 10,000-mt battery-grade lithium carbonate project in Zabuye Salt Lake, Tibet. Located in Shigatse City, Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), Zabuye is believed to hold one of the world’s largest deposits of lithium-rich brine (News.metal.com, Sep 28).
China has touted these projects as part of its “green development” drive, citing their role in fueling the global demand for electric vehicle (EV) batteries and renewable energy storage. However, Tibetans and experts dismiss this as blatant greenwashing, pointing to the severe ecological cost of mining at high-altitude salt lakes that serve as fragile ecosystems.
The hypocrisy of Beijing’s narrative was underscored on Sep 19, when Canadian outdoor brand Arc’teryx (owned by Chinese company Anta Sports) and artist Cai Guoqiang staged a 3,000-metre-long fireworks display in Tibet’s Gyantse County, Shigatse City. Critics condemned the spectacle as cultural erasure wrapped in environmental negligence, exposing China’s hollow claims of sustainability.
Tibetan communities view these lithium projects not as development, but as colonial extraction. Since the 1950 armed annexation of Tibet, China has tightened its grip over the plateau’s vast mineral wealth—including chromium, copper, gold, and now lithium—while Tibetans remain systematically excluded from decision-making and equitable benefit-sharing.
Activists warn that this unchecked resource exploitation risks irreversible damage to Tibet’s ecosystem, which is often called the “Third Pole” due to its massive freshwater reserves. Melting glaciers and poisoned salt lakes will not only devastate Tibet but also threaten water security for nearly 2 billion people across Asia who depend on rivers originating from the plateau.
“China’s lithium boom in Tibet is not about green energy; it’s about red imperialism—extracting resources from an occupied land while silencing its people,” said a Tibetan activist quoted by the Tibet Rights Collective.
Tibet’s lithium reserves have become increasingly strategic as global demand for EVs skyrockets. International companies tied into China’s supply chains risk complicity in what Tibetans call the “greenwashing of colonialism.”
By relying on minerals extracted under occupation, the global renewable industry could inadvertently fuel human rights abuses, cultural destruction, and environmental collapse on the Tibetan plateau.
While Beijing hails its lithium projects in Tibet as a triumph of “green development,” for Tibetans and environmental defenders it is a stark reminder of resource colonialism, cultural erasure, and ecological destruction. The global community must question whether a sustainable future can truly be built on the foundations of exploitation in occupied Tibet.